Federal Register / Vol. 70, No.
172 / Wednesday, September 7, 2005 / Notices
applicable provisions of 18 U.S.C. 3571,
or both.
Rodger T. Bryan,
Acting Field Manager.
[FR Doc. 05–17643 Filed 9–6–05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–HC–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[OR–130–1020–PH; HAG–145]
Notice of Intent To Prepare Resource
Management Plan Revisions and an
Associated Environmental Impact
Statement for Six Western Oregon
Districts of the Bureau of Land
Management
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
SUMMARY: This document provides
notice that the BLM intends to revise six
Resource Management Plans (RMP) with
a single associated Environmental
Impact Statement (EIS) for the Coos Bay
District, Eugene District, Medford
District, Roseburg District, Salem
District, and the Klamath Falls Resource
Area of the Lakeview District (planning
area).
DATES: This notice initiates the public
scoping process. Comments on the
scope of the plan revisions, including
issues or concerns that should be
considered, must be submitted in
writing to the address listed below by
October 21, 2005. Dates and locations
for public meetings or other events will
be announced through mailings, the
local news media, newsletters, and the
BLM internet site at least 15 days prior
to any event. These plan revisions are
scheduled to be complete in 2008.
ADDRESSES: Written comments should
be addressed to: BLM, Attn: Western
Oregon Planning Revision (OR–930.1),
P.O. Box 2965, Portland, OR 97208. In
addition, the BLM intends to provide a
Web site for the public to use to submit
electronic comments. When the Web
site is available, more information will
be posted at http://www.or.blm.gov.
All public comments, including
names and mailing addresses of
respondents, may be published as part
of the EIS. Individual respondents may
request confidentiality. If you wish to
withhold your name or street address
from public review or from disclosure
under the Freedom of Information Act,
please state this prominently at the
beginning of your written
correspondence. The BLM will honor
such requests to the extent allowed by
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53249
law. All submissions from organizations
and businesses, and from individuals
identifying themselves as
representatives or officials of
organizations or businesses, will be
available to the public in their entirety.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Individuals, organizations, and
government agencies wishing more
information or to have their name
placed on an electronic or postal
mailing list are urged to register on the
Web site (when it is available; see
above), or by sending a request to the
Portland address above, or by contacting
Alan Hoffmeister, Western Oregon
Planning Revision Public Outreach
Coordinator, at (503) 808–6629 or at
alan_hoffmeister@or.blm.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
planning area for the RMPs includes
approximately 2,550,000 acres of public
land and 69,000 acres of split-estate,
where the lands only involve the
Federal mineral estate.
The Federal Land Policy and
Management Act of 1976 requires the
development, maintenance, and
revision of land use plans. The vast
majority of the public lands in the
planning area are Revested Oregon and
California Railroad (O&C) lands, or Coos
Bay Wagon Road (CBWR) lands, and are
managed under the statutory authority
of the Oregon and California Revested
Railroad Lands Act of 1937 (O&C Act,
Pub. L. 75–405). Preparation of the
RMPs and EIS will conform to the above
land management laws and will also
comply with other Federal laws such as
the Endangered Species Act, Clean
Water Act, and the National
Environmental Policy Act. Additionally,
plan revisions will follow Federal
regulations and BLM management
policies.
Congress, in 1866, established a land
grant to promote the completion of the
Oregon and California Railroad from
Portland, Oregon, to San Francisco,
California. In 1916, Congress revested,
or brought back into Federal ownership,
the title to approximately 2.2 million
acres of land deeded to the Oregon and
California Railroad after the company
violated the terms of the land grant.
Congress also revested about 93,000
acres of CBWR lands due to similar
circumstances in 1919. The O&C Act of
1937 placed management jurisdiction of
these lands under the United States
Department of the Interior and directed
that timber thereon be managed for
permanent forest production using the
principle of sustained yield. The
benefits of sustained yield forest
management, as described in the O&C
Act, are a permanent source of timber,
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protection of watersheds, regulation of
streamflow, and a contribution to the
stability of local communities and
timber industries and recreation
facilities. The O&C Act also required
that 50 percent of the revenue generated
for management of the lands be returned
to the 18 counties that contained
revested lands.
The Northwest Forest Plan was
completed in 1994 and provided
direction to achieve the following five
goals: (1) Never forget human and
economic dimensions of the issues; (2)
Protect the long-term health of forests,
wildlife, and waterways; (3) Focus on
scientifically sound, ecologically
credible, and legally responsible
strategies and implementation; (4)
Produce a predictable and sustainable
level of timber sales and nontimber
resources; and (5) Ensure that Federal
agencies work together.
All of the BLM districts have current
RMPs that were completed in 1995.
These 1995 RMPs incorporated the land
use allocations and Standards and
Guidelines from the Northwest Forest
Plan. They also included decisions on
other issues or programs such as land
tenure, off-highway vehicles, etc. The
RMPs provide guidance for all activities
that occur on BLM-administered lands.
The BLM will continue to manage these
lands in accordance with the existing
RMPs until the revised RMPs are
completed and a Record of Decision is
signed.
After the 1995 RMPs were completed,
the American Forest Resource Council
(AFRC) and others filed a lawsuit
against the Secretaries of Agriculture
and the Interior alleging that the Record
of Decision for the Northwest Forest
Plan violated the O&C Act and
numerous other laws. The Secretary of
the Interior, the Secretary of
Agriculture, the AFRC, and the
Association of O&C Counties agreed to
settle this lawsuit in August of 2003.
The settlement agreement requires the
BLM, contingent on funding, to revise
the current RMPs and consider at least
one alternative that will not create any
reserves on O&C lands except as
required to avoid jeopardy to species
listed as threatened or endangered
under the Endangered Species Act or
adverse modification to critical habitat
for such species.
The revisions to the existing RMPs
will answer the question regarding how
the BLM should manage the O&C lands
to achieve the O&C Act requirement of
permanent forest production [as
interpreted by the United States Court of
Appeals for the Ninth Circuit] while
complying with applicable laws such as
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 53250 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 172 / Wednesday, September 7, 2005 / Notices
the Endangered Species Act and the
Clean Water Act.
Through a public participation
process, the BLM will work
collaboratively with interested parties to
identify which management direction is
best suited to manage the O&C lands as
described in the O&C Act and other
provisions of laws considering local,
regional, and national interests. The first
step in this process is formal public
scoping to help identify planning issues
and provide for public comment on the
proposed planning criteria.
Issues
The BLM has identified the following
preliminary planning issues. A planning
issue is identified as a ‘‘matter of
controversy or dispute over resource
management activities or land use that
is well-defined or topically discrete and
entails alternatives between which to
choose’’ (H–1601–1 III.A.3). These
preliminary issues are not final and may
be refined or augmented based on
public participation and comments
received during scoping.
• Vegetation—How should BLM-
administered forest lands be managed,
both temporally and spatially, to
provide a sustainable supply of wood
and other forest products mandated by
the O&C Act while meeting applicable
laws and regulations?
• Habitat—How should the O&C
lands be managed to contribute to the
conservation of species consistent with
the Endangered Species Act?
• Watershed management and water
quality—How should BLM lands be
managed to contribute to meeting the
Clean Water Act and the Safe Drinking
Water Act?
• Wildland fire and fuels—How
should BLM-administered land be
managed to reduce the risk of wildfires
and integrate fire back into the
ecosystem?
Planning Criteria
The BLM has also identified some
preliminary criteria to guide the
development of the RMPs, to avoid
unnecessary data collection and
analysis, and to ensure the RMPs are
tailored to the issues. These criteria may
be modified or other criteria identified
after the public scoping process. The
public is invited to comment on the
following preliminary planning criteria:
Purpose and need for the plan
revisions:
• The BLM will manage the O&C
lands to achieve the O&C Act
requirement of permanent forest
production [as interpreted by the United
States Court of Appeals for the Ninth
Circuit] while complying with
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applicable laws such as the Endangered
Species Act and the Clean Water Act.
Alternatives to be considered:
A reasonable range of alternatives will
be considered. All alternatives will be
designed to comply with existing laws.
Two alternatives known at this time are:
• No Action—continue management
under the current RMPs.
• An alternative which will not create
any reserves on O&C lands except as
required to avoid jeopardy to species
listed as threatened or endangered
under the Endangered Species Act.
In choosing a preferred alternative for
the involved lands, the BLM will
consider factors such as:
• The quality of habitats created.
• The impacts on water quality
limited streams.
• The amount of timber produced.
• The contributions to community
stability.
• Costs of implementation.
As part of this RMP process, the BLM
will analyze areas for potential
designation as Areas of Critical
Environmental Concern (ACEC) in
accordance with 43 CFR 1610.7–2.
Public nominations for potential ACECs
to be considered in these revisions must
be made by October 28, 2005.
James G. Kenna,
Associate State Director, Oregon/Washington,
Bureau of Land Management.
[FR Doc. 05–17641 Filed 9–6–05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–33–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[NM–952–05–1420–BJ]
Notice of Filing of Plats of Survey; New
Mexico
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
SUMMARY: The plats of survey described
below are scheduled to be officially
filed in the New Mexico State Office,
Bureau of Land Management, Santa Fe,
New Mexico, (30) thirty calendar days
from the date of this publication.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
New Mexico Principal Meridian, New
Mexico
The plat representing the dependent
resurvey and survey in Township 9
South, Range 12 East, and subdivision
of sections, accepted March 7, 2005, for
Group 943 New Mexico.
The Plat representing the dependent
resurvey and survey of subdivision of
PO 00000 Frm 00103 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 E:\FR\FM\07SEN1.SGM
sections for Township 17 North, Range
18 West, accepted July 19, 2005, for
Group 909 New Mexico.
The plat representing the dependent
resurvey and survey of subdivision of
sections for Township 20 North, Range
9 East, accepted July 20, 2005, for Group
109 New Mexico.
The plat, in 2 sheets, representing the
dependent resurvey in Township 13
North, Range 19 West, accepted July 20,
2005, for Group 1028 New Mexico.
The Supplemental Plat showing
aliquot parts and new lots 39 and 40
created from former lot 37 of section 18
for Township 20 North, Range 9 East,
accepted May 2, 2005, for New Mexico.
The plat representing the dependent
resurvey and survey of subdivision of
sections for Township 23 North, Range
10 East, accepted June 30, 2005, for
Group 1028 New Mexico.
The plat representing the dependent
resurvey and survey of subdivision of
sections for Township 23 North, Range
8 West, accepted March 30, 2005, for
Group 1033 New Mexico.
Indian Meridian, Oklahoma
The plats representing the dependent
resurvey and survey of Township 8
North, Range 12 East, accepted May 11,
2005, for Group 97 Oklahoma.
The plat representing the dependent
resurvey and survey of Township 9
North, Range 12 East, accepted May 11,
2005, for Group 97 Oklahoma.
The plat representing the dependent
resurvey and survey of Township 9
North, Range 7 East, accepted May 11,
2005, for Group 109 Oklahoma.
The plat representing the dependent
resurvey and survey of Township 1
North, Range 2 West, accepted June 13,
2005, for Group 111 Oklahoma.
The plat representing the dependent
resurvey and survey of Township 9
North, Range 11 East, accepted May 11,
2005, for Group 97 Oklahoma.
The plat representing the dependent
resurvey and survey of Township 4
South, Range 2 West, accepted June 30,
2005, for Group 115 Oklahoma.
The plat representing the dependent
resurvey and survey of Township 5
North, Range 4 West, accepted April 12,
2005, for Group 125 Oklahoma.
The plat representing the dependent
resurvey and survey of Township 1
North, Range 5 West, accepted June 13,
2005, for Group 103 Oklahoma.
The plat representing the dependent
resurvey and survey of Township 23
North, Range 8 East, accepted August 8,
2005, for Group 127 Oklahoma.
The plat representing the dependent
resurvey and survey of Township 14
North, Range 25 East, accepted May 11,
2005, for Group 114 Oklahoma.
07SEN1